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Running brown bear, Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

Judge Vacates Land Exchange, Halts Road Through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge

A federal judge today vacated an illegal closed-door deal between the U.S. Department of the Interior and a for-profit Alaska Native corporation, King Cove Corp., that exchanged a 10.5-mile corridor of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness lands to enable a road connecting King Cove and Cold Bay.
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Ashley National Forest
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Defenders Strongly Opposes USDA Proposal to Dismantle Long-Standing Protections for National Forests

The United States Department of Agriculture today announced that the U.S. Forest Service has filed a proposed rule to fully rescind the national 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule — a bedrock conservation policy that has protected nearly 45 million acres of undeveloped backcountry forests for over two decades.
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Bull Trout
WASHINGTON, D.C.

Defenders Joins Conservationists In Blasting Federal Proposal to Bulldoze Forestlands

Conservation groups today called a plan by the Trump administration to rescind the U.S. Forest Service’s Roadless Area Conversation Rule an alarming threat to national forests that are overwhelmingly loved by Americans.

Press Releases

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Swamp Lined with Trees
Washington, DC

Draft Mining Permits Spell Danger for Okefenokee Refuge

A damaging strip-mining plan threatening the country’s last intact freshwater ecosystem has moved one step closer to reality. On Feb. 9, the Georgia Environmental Protection
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2021.03.27 - Gray Wolf Laying in Snow - Yellowstone National Park - Wyoming - John Morrison
Washington, D.C.

Defenders Decries U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Inaction to List Gray Wolves

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced it will not relist gray wolves of the Northern Rocky Mountain population to the Endangered Species Act.
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A Mountain Landscape, featuring Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina
Asheville, NC

Logging project in Nantahala National Forest violates federal law, new lawsuit alleges

On Wednesday, a coalition of conservation groups filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service, alleging the agency’s plans to log a sensitive area
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A dead North Atlantic right whale is seen stranded at Joseph Sylvia State Beach in Edgartown, Mass. Found on Sunday, the whale is a juvenile female, a devestating loss to the population.
Washington, DC

Young female endangered right whale found dead on Martha’s Vineyard beach

A North Atlantic right whale was found dead on a Martha’s Vineyard beach off the coast of Massachusetts on Sunday, Jan. 28. This juvenile female
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2022.08.28 - Two Orcas Swimming - Tongass National Forest - Alaska - Harvey Hergett-USFS.jpg

Defenders Statement on J-Pod Orca Calf Presumed Dead

The Southern resident orca calf reportedly born to the J-Pod at the end of December 2023 is presumed dead, according to the Center for Whale
Senior Vice President, External Affairs
lsheehan@defenders.org
(202) 772-3244
Communications Director
mdewane@defenders.org
(202) 772-0217
Communications Specialist
jcovey@defenders.org
Communications Specialist
kirby@defenders.org
(202) 772-3268
Communications Specialist
estern@defenders.org
202-772-0243